


Burgers, Books and Bedtime Stories

by kimmins



Series: What do you do in a town this small? [1]
Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: But mostly fluff, Cuddles, DrummerWolf, Gen, Pre-Relationship, Some angst, hinted Amanda/Cross, hinted Amanda/Martin, same window girl same
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-14
Updated: 2017-12-01
Packaged: 2019-02-02 05:38:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12720720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimmins/pseuds/kimmins
Summary: It starts with burgers, continues with a favorite childhood book and ends with a nice bedtime story. Amanda and the Rowdy 3 visit a small town in the middle of nowhere.





	1. Burgers

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Takada_Saiko](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Takada_Saiko/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It started with burgers.

They’d been driving around tiny towns for the last week or so with no real destination in mind. They were just happy to be free again. Blackwing and Wendimoor behind them at last.

 

But still being in the van all day had worn on her boys, they’d been too still for too long. She could feel it in the stuffy air that not even the stiff breeze from the open windows could dissipate. So when they pulled into yet another small town Amanda called for a stop. When Martin looked over his shoulder at her in question she shrugged and said she was hungry. The look he’d given her over his glasses almost called her on her lie but he too noticed the tension in his boys. So he was happy to pullover in front of the only food joint in the town. Some walk up mom and pop burger place right on the tiny main street.

 

Vogel bounded out before they came to a stop, eager to be out of the confines of the van. Amanda was right behind him but the second the smell of greasy burgers hit her, real hunger set in. It was such a sudden thing that she stopped dead and poor Cross barreled her over as he jumped out of the van. Gripps just climbed over them both which seemed to set Vogel off in his own unique way. Soon he had jumped on his back with a howl and the two were off yelling and screaming in excitement around the empty parking lot.

From where she lay partially sprawled on the tarmac Amanda laughed as she watched them running around. Cross grinned at her as he held out a hand to help her up. She grinned back as she grasped his hand but let out a shriek that devolved into laughter as Cross unexpectedly hauled her up over his shoulder and took off after the other two.

 

Martin had just rounded the van and was watching the hijinks with a satisfied smile. A smile that made Amanda all the happier when she caught sight of it.

 

She was glad that she’d read the situation right and had gotten them off the road for a bit. They all needed it. Almost as much as she needed one of the heavenly burgers she could smell.

 

Her stomach chose that moment to remind her that she was actually hungry as it rumbled loud enough for Cross to hear. Laughing he turned to Martin and said, “Guess we better get our Drummer girl some food before she decides to eat us instead,” before walking off toward the burger stand, Amanda still over his shoulder.

 

“Don’t think I won’t!” she fake yelled at them both, still too happy to care about how uncomfortable Cross’s bony shoulder was.  

 

Martin, following close behind Cross, grinned wolfishly at her before growling “You can eat me anytime Drummer girl.”

 

Cross barked out a laugh at that. “Yeah, I guess that wouldn’t be all that bad would it.”

 

Amanda could feel herself go red as both men chuckled at their double entendre. She met Martin’s eye as he smiled in a way that lit her up like a christmas tree. In retaliation she did the only thing she could think of, stick her tongue out, which only made him smile more broadly.

 

By that point Cross had come up to the burger shack and stopped at the order window. “So what do you want?” He seemed unconcerned that he still had Amanda over his shoulder and she was seriously wondering if she was going to have eat from this position.

 

“Well. If I could see the menu I would know. Why don't you let me down?” She asked while poking him hard in the back.

 

Cross didn’t even flinch but seemed to consider it for a moment before shaking his head, “Nah. This is much more fun.” As he said it he turned around so that she was now facing the menu and the wide eyed girl manning the window. In response she could feel Cross laugh and could hear Martin’s bassy chuckle from behind her. She could just imagine the wide grins they both had as they continued to be amused by her frustration.

 

Sighing as she realized it would just be easier to continue to go along, Amanda looked over the menu. It was pretty simple selection but man did it smelled good. She could feel her stomach grumble again where Cross’s shoulder was pressing into it. Man she was a lot hungrier than she thought.

 

She was debating between fries and onion rings when a quiet voice spoke up and brought Amanda’s attention to the girl at the window.

 

“Um, did you have any questions?” The poor girl looked a tad overwhelmed. And how could she not be? Her wide eyes were heavily lined with black, her natural hair color was most definitely not the seafoam green it currently was and the remains of her chipped nail polish was an exact match the neon green Gripps had been painting on Amanda’s since the day she joined the Rowdy 3. It was no wonder the girl looked at Amanda like she some punk angel from the future here to bring the good word of anarchy and chaos to this boring little town.

 

“Oh, I just can’t decide between the fries and the onion rings. Which do you think are better?” Amanda asked from her perch, quietly bemused at the unabashed hero worship in the girl’s eyes.

 

“Oh man, I-I really like the onion rings.” Her voice was sweet and a just a tad breathy.

 

“I’ll do that then, with the number one with cheese and a…” Amanda debated for a moment, “a large root beer.”

 

“Um, will that be all?” The question trailed off as the girl at the window dragged her eyes over to where Martin had moved to stand beside Cross to look up at the menu. Amanda caught the slight blush that spread across her cheeks and glanced at him too before looking back at the girl.

 

When she caught her eye the girl blushed harder at being caught. But Amanda just grinned and whispered “Same,” before biting her lip and smiling. The girl giggled a bit nervously but with genuine amusement, happy to be in on the joke for once.

 

A piercing whistle cut through the air and brought everyone’s attention back to Martin, including Gripps and Vogel who were fooling around on the picnic tables near by. A quick jerk of his head had the other two heading their way in an instant.

 

“Yeah Martin?” Vogel asked once he and Gripps were close.

 

“You boys hungry?”

 

Gripps breathed in deep, taking in the deliciously greasy air. “Does smell good.”

 

Cross hummed in agreement and Vogel eagerly nodded his head all while Amanda watched on in amusement and the girl at the window in awe. That was until Martin walked up to the window, leaned on the tiny counter and made eye contact with the poor thing.

 

Amanda swore she could hear her squeak from where she was still over Cross’s shoulder. Even though she couldn’t see either of their faces she was sure Martin had one of those easy smiles of his and she could just make out the red tips of the girl’s ears over the bulk of Martin’s shoulders.

 

His voice was a deep murmur as he ordered more food for him and the others. He he only had to stop once or twice to check with the others about their food preferences, but they were like that. He knew his boys and what they liked better than most parents did their own kids.

 

At some point during the order Cross had turned to partially face Martin and Amanda had lost her easy view of the show but soon enough she heard a stammered confirmation of the order and the total for the food. She looked over her shoulder to see Martin lean back to talk to Gripps for a second, holding out a hand for something. Gripps nodded and reached into his jacket, pulling out a beat to shit wallet. Amanda was never sure where they got cash but Gripps always seemed to have it and Martin never seemed to trust anyone but him to carry it, not even himself.

 

The cash changed hands and soon Martin was handing it over to the girl in the window with a deeply rumbled, “Keep the change.” Amanda was sure he gave her a toothy grin and a cheeky wink to match. The way the girl flushed and squeaked in response guaranteed it. And sure enough as he turned to the boys and her there it was. He was having fun teasing the poor girl and wasn’t ashamed in the slightest.

 

He led them all over to the picnic tables Gripps and Vogel had been climbing all over earlier. As soon as Cross made it to one of them he delicately placed Amanda on her feet on top of one of the benches and gave her a dramatic bow. “My lady.”

 

Amanda carefully returned his bow with a curtsy and a her own dramatic, “Why thank you my good sir.”

 

They were met with hoots and howls from the others and soon they were all bowing and scaping in the most ridiculous way around the table. Mostly just making a nuisance of themselves as they took their seats.

 

The table was big enough for six of them  and Gripps opted to sit next to where Amanda had plopped herself down, Cross bumped Martin till he moved over to sit in front of Gripps and Vogel climbed on the table top and sat cross legged at the end of it, his knees just bumping Amanda and Cross’s arms.

 

They sat for a while in a Rowdy sort of calm as they waited for their food. It was the kind of calm that could shift into utter chaos in the drop of a hat. Vogel was picking at Cross’s hair while Amanda and Gripps were playing some silly hand slapping game. Martin had pulled out a pack of cigarettes and was lighting one up as he watched them all.

 

He’d only gotten a few drags in when their order was up. The second he made to stand Amanda stopped him with an “Oh no you don’t.”

 

He gave her an innocent look, happy to act like he had no idea what she was calling him on.

 

“Oh you’ve teased that poor girl enough. I’ll get it.” She glared at Martin for good measure before smacking Gripps on the shoulder. “Come help me.”

 

“What? How did I get wrangled into helping?” Gripps asked as he got up and followed. The others just laughed as they walked to the pick up window.

 

“Hey do you really want Vogel getting the food?” Amanda shot back at him. They all laughed at that, until Vogel seemed to get the joke.

 

“Hey,” he started turning to glare at Amanda. But she just blew him a kiss that seemed to freak him out enough to turn back around which sent Cross and Martin into hysterics. Vogel’s discomfort with the idea of being Amanda’s “boyfriend” had become a bit of a running joke with them all and Amanda used it to her advantage as often as she could.

 

The food smelled heavenly the closer she and Gripps got to the counter and she felt like the was visibly drooling by the time they collected it all from the girl at the window. Amanda gave her an excited smile and  heartfelt thank you before heading to the table.

 

It was a free for all as soon as Amanda and Gripps sat down with the food. Normal Rowdy 3 mealtime shenanigans ensued as the boys fought to get their share of the haul. Luckily they all knew not to mess with Amanda’s food. That one time she’d stabbed one of them with a fork had taught them all that lesson.

 

The moan she let out as she took a bite of her burger stopped the fighting as the others looked at her in surprise. “God, this is the best burger I’ve ever had.” Amanda continued to make happy little moans and groans as she ate, oblivious to the men at the table.

 

Martin and Cross shared a look, Martin’s eyebrow raising in amusement as Cross shoved an onion ring in his mouth to keep smiling too hard.  Vogel was blushing and trying really hard not to stare at her as she continued to make those noises. Gripps just shook his head at his brothers, all the while drinking his milkshake. It was a good milkshake.

 

Eventually the lull caused by food and Amanda’s unexpected noises ended and they were back to stealing food from each other and throwing fries and the occasional onion ring into each other’s mouths. They even managed to get their Drummer girl in on the fun once she was full enough to appreciate the game. There was plenty of cheering and howling when she managed to catch a pickle Vogel had thrown her way with little effort.

 

In a play straight out of Alice in Wonderland, Vogel had initiated a round of “change seats” and Amanda had ended up sandwiched between Gripps and Martin while Vogel and Cross sat across them grinning like loons. She had refused to move and none of them had dared try and make her move, but she had been smiling and laughing at their antics as she continued to eat.

 

But soon enough the food was gone, save for a few fries, and they were full and content. The quiet small town atmosphere seeped into them after their meal.

 

Martin sat with his back resting against the table, one foot up on the seat of the table next to them as he smoked. Their drummer girl curled against him as she finished off Cross’s milkshake. Cross was sitting on the bench in front of him, her feet in his lap as he lazily fiddled with her laces. Vogel had his head in her lap, the fingers of her free hand skimming through his hair. Gripps had cleaned off their table and had taken a spot on ground with his head up against both her and Cross’s legs. It was perfect.

 

Just what they needed after a day cooped up in the van.

 

Taking another drag of his cigarette, Martin made sure to exhale away from Amanda’s face before he leaned over to whisper in her ear. “Good call Drummer girl.” Once again Amanda lit up like Christmas as his voice rumbled against her.

 

She beamed at him, “Yeah, it was wasn’t it?”


	2. A Little Bit of Chaos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One of the hidden benefits of visiting a sleepy little town in the middle of nowhere, it didn’t take much to spread a little chaos.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK. So I was planning on this being three chapters but it looks like everyone wants to hang out more than I thought they were going to and the story got longer. So instead of getting to the books of Burgers, Books and Bedtime Stories, we're gonna have a little bit of chaos.

After their meal Amanda and the boys had stayed in their little huddle, full and content to relax in each other’s presence for a while. She was just starting to doze off where she was curled into Martin’s side when several cars pulled up to the burger shack, startling her awake. The slamming of car doors and the sudden clamor of voices had Martin tipping his head back to take stock of the situation. 

 

The attack by Blackwing that had led to their most recent stint in captivity had made the man a bit on edge when it came to large groups of people showing up from seemingly nowhere. 

 

So the second Amanda felt tension begin to build in Martin’s body she pushed Vogel’s head off her lap nearly sending him to the ground, pulled her feet out of Cross’s grip and stood up careful not to step on Gripps where he sat in the space between the two tables. “Ok boys.” She said authoritatively, “I think it's time we did a walk-about.” 

 

The abrupt declaration, coupled with how quickly Amanda had untangled from them had everyone focused on her in a flash. Martin included.

 

“Yeah? Why’s that Drummer?” Gripps asked a look of appreciation on his face. He too had noticed the subtle change in their leader as the cars had pulled up and was glad she had shifted the focus away from the forming crowd. 

 

Amanda slouched so her stomach stuck out a bit and rubbed at it. “I have this huge food baby I need to walk off or I’m gonna fall into a food coma.” 

 

Vogel let out a small noise of agreement from where he was sprawled out on the bench. He’d eaten the most of all of them and was probably feeling overfull now that all the excitement of the meal had passed.

 

The sound of another car door slamming had Martin’s focus slipping back to the growing crowd so Amanda made a show of trying to pop her back before adding, “and I don’t know about you guys but these benches are not comfortable enough for a real nap." Then with a smile and a quick nudge to Martin’s leg, teased, “Not that you don’t make just the perfect pillow.” The contact had his focus moving back to the group and the teasing had him smiling broadly. 

 

Amanda was almost sure she imagined it but she thought she caught just the tiniest tint of pink color the tips of his ears. But before she could really tell Cross jumped up and draped his arm over her shoulders shifting her attention away from the curious sight. 

 

“Drummer’s right. You do make a good pillow and a walk sounds about right.” His eyes cut to a small group making their way to a table near by. Their body language was cautious and unsure as they noticed the Rowdy 3 and Amanda huddled together a few tables away. Cross took a deep breath before looking Martin straight in the eye. “Too good a day to pile back in the van.”

 

Martin seemed to get his meaning because he looked to Gripps and Vogel for agreement, his eyebrow arching over the frames of his glasses when he met Amanda’s eye for her input. 

 

Amanda knew that all the food they had just gorged themselves meant very little as far as hunger went. That eating with her had been more about enjoying food and having fun than in feeding themselves. If she was catching Cross’s meaning he was suggesting the boys stirred up some trouble to get a little bit of substance from the resulting chaos. And really as long as no one got hurt why should she stop them? They probably wouldn’t even have to do much to get people here riled up. 

 

Amanda shrugged, “Sure.” She was just happy that she wasn’t going to have to get back in the van so soon. She wasn’t really lying about the food baby. She had eaten a lot and a walk did sound nice.

 

At her agreement, Vogel jumped up and let loose a loud “Yeah!” startling the people that had been watching them with curious caution. Not a bad start. 

 

Gripps got off the floor in more sedate manner, but made sure to make eye contact with a couple that was watching from the order window and proceeded to grin in the most menacing way he could. Amanda almost lost it at the way the color drained from their faces. She knew they could seem like big scary guys but Gripps was the teddy bear of the group. 

 

Martin hopped up, going from his lazy sprawl to standing in a flash of manic energy. He stood there for a moment before he softly cupped the back of her head and pressed his forehead to Amanda’s. His eyes holding hers for the those fleeting seconds of contact, before he pulled back to look at his brothers. A quick flick of his head had them moving out. 

 

Except for Amanda. She was stuck where Martin had left her. That Christmas feeling was back but this time she could feel heat blooming in her cheeks and her heart was beating just a tad faster than normal.  Before she could get her brain to even start making the last few moments make sense Vogel was inches from her face. 

 

“C’mon Boss. Let’s go!” He grabbed her arm and pulled her towards the others and out of her haze. Gripps and Cross were making their way towards the large group of people waiting to order but had slowed down when they noticed the others weren’t with them. Martin had stopped and was waiting for Vogel to get Amanda. As soon as they got close enough he threw his arms over their shoulders, slouching to bring his head level with theirs. 

 

“Alright kids, let’s make this good.” He rumbled just low enough for them both to hear. 

 

Vogel giggled at first but soon enough his body relaxed into Martin’s. He might have issues with pretending that he was Amanda’s boyfriend but she had learned that Vogel was more than comfortable with Martin and the others. There was nothing sexual about it but other people didn’t always see it that way. Another perfect way to introduce a small bit a chaos into the populace of a small town in the middle of nowhere.

 

Of course if the town was a little more accepting than that, Amanda was there to up the ante. So she followed suit and let herself relax into his side even if it did make the heat resurface in her cheeks. 

 

And if that didn’t work they could just throw in Gripps and Cross to really push some buttons. 

 

But Martin had read the crowd in front of the burger joint pretty well. As they reached the group of people waiting to order there were murmurs and glances towards them all. Not only were they strangers, they were  _ strange _ strangers. 

 

Soon enough the group of them were cutting through the crowd, people hastily moving out of the way as they walked by. The boys breathing in the energy as the passed. Taking just enough to feed lightly and not harm any one person. They were always as considerate as possible to not overdo it in situations like this. 

 

As they passed the by Amanda saw the girl at the window staring in awe yet again. 

 

It was easy to catch her eye and give her a small wave. The girl started to wave back, then Amanda felt Martin turn his head in her direction. She saw a flush creep into the girl’s face and turned to look at Martin and caught him winking with that wolfish grin of his to go with it. A quick glance back told her that the girl had hastily looked away.

 

She smacked him in the chest. “Why do you keep doing that? She’s such a sweet girl.” she asked him under her breath as they got past the crowd. He didn’t answer, but seemed to be thinking and not refusing to answer.

 

“Tasty.” was the reply that eventually came and Amanda was surprised that Vogel had answered instead of Martin.

 

“What?” She asked as she looked around Martin to look at Vogel, confused as to what he was talking about.

 

“She’s tasty.” his eyes were lidded as he took in one last breath of energy before they left the immediate area of the burger shack and met up with Gripps and Cross who were waiting nearby.

 

“The girl’s fear was the good kind.” Martin finally said, picking over his words as he tried to explain it to Amanda. “Like,” he stopped, trying to recall some long ago memory before continuing, “like how you feel before jumping off a bridge when you’re swimming.” His voice was wistful as he said it and Amanda could almost picture it.

 

A group of kids at some far off bridge over a beautiful creek. Most of them already in the water calling out to a scrawny kid in oversized glasses as he nervously looks down at the fall. He takes a breath and backs up a step before hurling himself of the bridge. He lets loose a yell that’s almost a howl right before he breaks the surface of the water. The others are cheering when he comes up and he has the biggest grin. A grin that Amanda has seen so many times of the last few months on a much older face.

 

The thought made her mind startle back to the present.

 

And there was that face, so close to hers that it was hard to make out all the features. The eyes were sad and wide behind glasses that fit his face much better than the ones from her vision. Amanda blinked slowly. Vision? 

 

Rough hands were gently cupped around her face and she reached out to grab his wrists to steady herself. 

 

“ ‘Manda,” Martin’s voice was rougher than she was used to. He stroked her hair, brushing her bangs out of the way. His eyes searched her face. 

 

“Mm’ok.” she managed to get out. She blinked before shaking her head to clear it. She’s had a few random visions without attacks since they’d gotten back from Wendimoor but never quite like that. And never something that was so obviously the past. 

 

She finally seemed to anchor herself in the present enough to notice that all four of the Rowdy 3 were crowded around her. Gripps, to her right, put a comforting hand on her shoulder and she looked over at him, his face as concerned as Martin’s 

 

“Where’d you go Drummer?” he asked.

 

It was hard not to but Amanda managed to not look back at Martin when she said “A bridge over a creek.” But she still caught the way he subtly flinched out of the corner of her eye. 

 

“Martin-” 

 

He cut her off before she could apologize, “It's fine. You can’t help it.” He gave her a weak smile and ruffled her hair. “Just glad you’re safe.”

 

“Yeah, you gave us a bit of a scare Drummer,” Cross said, his expression somber. “Just stopped walking and stood there.”

 

Suddenly there were arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders and Vogel was burying his head in her neck. His words were muffled but she could make out his “Don’t scare us like that Boss.”

 

“Hey, hey. I’m fine.” Amanda awkwardly pat at Vogel’s arms, she couldn’t reach very well with his arms still around her but she tried. “I’m fine.”

 

There was an assorted mix of noises from the other three that said they didn’t really believe her. So she shot them a look, “I’m fine. Just more weirdness. Like normal.” When they gave her back looks that said they weren’t sure she rolled her eyes, shrugged Vogel off and walked off.

 

After a few steps she turned, “I’m fine. Stop being such a bunch of...of...UGH.” She threw her hands up seeing the range of expressions on their faces. “Just stop.” With that she turned and walked off leaving the Rowdy 3 in their concerned huddle. 

 

Cross was the first to move to follow, slightly frustrated with the situation. Sometimes it was hard for them to remember that even though she was older than Vogel she was still young. Her frustration was understandable. They weren’t her parents. But they were her family and they promised to look out for her, even if she could take care of herself. 

 

Vogel was fast behind him, upset that he had upset the Boss. Or at least he thought he’d upset her. But he’d just been scared that something bad was happening when she’d just stopped moving. It had reminded him too much of them being on their own and his feeling of helplessness. But he’d make it up to her. Somehow.

 

Gripps and Martin hadn’t moved. Martin sighed, his posture sagging as he rubbed at his eyes with one hand. He was tired. Too much had happened in the last few months. He’d been happy that Amanda had called for a stop, happy that she knew them well enough to know they needed the break. Knew him well enough that she could tell when he was starting to focus on possible danger instead of the here and now. She’d done such a damn good job of pulling him out of that dangerous state. And now here he was fucking up her day.

 

“Dammit,” he growled.

 

Gripps just threw an arm over his shoulder and pulled him into a half hug. “It’ll be okay. She’s just a little freaked out. So are you.”

 

Martin made a quiet grumble of agreement. 

 

“She’s be fine in a minute. Just let her cool off and we’ll back off for a it. Let her know we know she’s got this.”

 

Martin just sighed, “Yeah, okay.”

 

Gripps just beamed at him, “Okay, let’s go find our Drummer girl”. 


	3. You’re One of Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot can happen behind the courthouse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've just stopped worrying about how long this is gonna be and I'm just going to enjoy the ride.

The pavement under her boots was cracked and the wood of the bench she was sitting on was old and water damaged. The fabric of her leggings kept snagging whenever she shifted and she wouldn’t stop kicking at the slightly raised section of pavement under her left foot. Her eyes didn’t move from the crack, even when she wiped at her nose as she sniffed; her emotions still running a bit high. 

 

Amanda had found the small sitting area in the main square after she’d run off. It was located just behind what was probably the courthouse or something. It was not very isolated but the guys hadn’t come after her. And that made her a little sad. It also made her feel a little like an asshole. 

 

They were just trying to look out for her but sometimes it was so frustrating. Hadn’t she proved she could handle things on her own? Hadn’t she been the one to get them out of Blackwing?  The one to ‘learn that weird crap’? 

 

Martin had even put her in charge in Wendimoor. “ Where you go, we go,” and all that. 

 

But now that they were back, and after everything that had happened, anytime something slightly unexpected happened with her powers-- her visions, they got all...weird. Like she was some kind of delicate child that needed looking after. She wasn’t a kid. Hell, she wasn’t that much younger than Vogel.

 

She sniffed again, tears starting to form in her eyes. “Ugh,” she groaned as she looked up, trying to not let them fall. “I will not cry. It's not that big a deal. I’m just being stupid.”

 

“No you’re not.”

 

The voice startled Amanda so bad she yelped and nearly fell off the bench before turning to Cross. He stood a few feet to the left of where she was barely managing to sit. 

 

“Cross, what the hell man? You can’t sneak up on me like that. Holy crap.” She said as she flopped back into the bench, hand on her chest. 

 

“Sorry.” He shrugged in way that conveyed that he wasn’t entirely, but still looked a little sheepish.  

 

Amanda just smiled at him. The edges of it turning slightly sad as she remembered why she’d been alone in the first place. “It’s fine.”

 

Cross flashed her a quick smile and shifted his weight toward her but made no move to walk closer. Obviously hesitant as to whether she wanted him around or not. And that made Amanda feel like even more of an ass. 

 

She took a deep breath and let it out in sigh, trying to let her bad mood go with it before patting the space next to her. “Come on man. Sit.”

 

Cross smiled and repeated, “Sit.” before sitting down, his leg pressed against her. The bench was a lot shorter than she thought. But it was easy to let her head fall on his shoulder when they were this close. 

 

They sat in the still midday sun for a few moments, neither saying anything. Cross was good that way. It wasn’t until she sniffed and wiped at her face, taking any traces of wayward tears away, that Cross broke the silence.

 

“You’re not. You know.” His voice quiet but clear. 

 

Amanda raised her head off his shoulder to look at him, confused. He kept his gaze out into the distance and didn’t look at her.

 

“What?” Amanda was a little lost until he responded.

 

“You’re not being stupid.” 

 

“Oh,” her voice was small. It was kinda embarrassing, really. Her anger made her feel as young as she accused them of treating her. 

 

Cross turned to look at her. And it was one of those times where he really saw her. “You might be young. But you’re strong. And sometimes we forget.” His voice was as sure as it was when he called the others his brothers. An irrefutable statement of fact.

 

“Gripps, Martin and me. We’re old. We’ve been through some shit. Seen a lot. But you and Vogel.” He stopped and sat forward, leaning his arms on knees with his hands clasped between them. Then looked back out into the distance. “You guys are young. But you aren’t young the same way he is.”

 

Amanda didn’t know what to say that so she didn’t say anything. She just leaned forward to rest her chin on his shoulder. 

 

He sighed. “And we forget.”

 

He moved his head to just barely touch her forehead before continuing. “I promised you wouldn’t have to deal with that shit anymore. And the others agreed with me. You are one of us now. When you do stuff we can’t understand. Stuff that could make you hurt in a way we can’t help. It scares us.”

 

“I thought the Rowdy 3 were fearless.” she said, voice a little thick, but determined to lighten the mood a bit. Amanda still didn’t want to cry and Cross was perilously close to making her lose it. 

 

“Drummer, you know better than that,” he said as he turned to her, making her move back. But when she noticed that his eyes were filled with unshed tears, the ones she had managed to contain earlier came out. A couple escaping in small trails down her cheeks before she could wipe them away. 

 

At seeing the tears, Cross’s face dropped into a look of panic and he seemed to lose his ability to communicate effectively. There was a lot of ‘sorrys’ and ‘heys’ as he tried to get her to stop crying. He even tried to help Amanda wipe the tears from her face. Which did have the added bonus of making her laugh.  

 

And that’s how the others found them. Cross still mildly panicked and Amanda’s face blotchy and red from crying, her makeup smeared around her eyes from his “help”. 

 

“Dammit Cross. We sent you to make this better not make her cry.” Martin admonished as he walked up, Gripps and Vogel trailing behind him.

 

At seeing her Vogel all but threw himself into Amanda’s lap. Rambling nonstop apologies. The already small bench seemed to groan, or maybe that was her, under the added weight. She just patted his head murmuring to him that it was okay. 

 

His head popped up from where he had it buried against her chest, his face a mask of distress, “But we made you sad. And Cross made you cry.” He shot his brother a dirty look. 

 

Amanda ignored the silent fighting she knew was about to break out by asking “How do you even know I was crying?” to Gripps and Martin. 

 

The two older men gave her dry looks. She just looked back at them blankly. In response they looked back at each other and had a moment of silent communication.

 

It was Gripps that answered first by pointing at her face, “Your face. Looks like a raccoon,” he almost barked in humor.

 

“Hey.” Amanda said, slightly offended.

 

Before she could say anything else Martin let out a pained groan.

 

They both looked at him in confusion. 

 

Taking in both of their faces he sighed. His head tipping to the side as he closed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

 

Gripps looked at him. “What?” 

 

He shook his head. Gripps gave him another confused look.

 

Martin looked up at him from over the rim of his glasses for a moment before scratching at the skin of his neck in a bid for patience. The he sighed, “No man. The smell.”  He made a vague motion with his hand. 

 

Gripps’ face cleared up, “Oh Yeah. That.” He screwed up his face in disgust. “Smelled awful.” 

 

“Hey.” Amanda said again; this time unsure if she should be offended or not about that.

 

Out of seemingly nowhere Vogel chimed in. Whatever silent argument he and Cross were having forgotten as he said, “Oh man. It was bad Boss. Smelled the worst.” 

 

Ok, now she was sure she was offended. No woman likes being told they smell bad, even it's just that your negative emotions smell bad. She had her pride dammit. “Hey. Can everyone stop saying I smell bad?” She snapped.

 

“Easy Drummer,” Martin soothed. When she shot him a nasty look he held his hands up in surrender. “It's just that we’re so used to you smelling so good,” he said with that wolfish smile and a wink.

 

It was enough to get Amanda to flush and forget her irritation at them.

 

Then Cross joined in, throwing his arm over her shoulder and leaning in to say “Yeah, you always smell sweet and fruity. Light. Like desert.” 

 

When Amanda looked at him in surprise he cocked his eyebrows at her and grinned. For once looking as wolfish as Martin during his worst teasing. And it made her blush all the harder. 

 

Gripps rolled his eyes at them all. Vogel looked both confused and uncomfortable with the energy that was building in the group and looked to Gripps for help.

 

“Girlfriend stuff.” He said simply. 

 

The effect was immediate. Vogel was up and off of the bench in an instant. Making horrendous noises of distress while trying to wipe something off his body.

 

It was quite the production and when it had gone on long enough Martin reached out and grabbed him by the shoulders. “Alright Vogel. It’s done. No more girlfriend stuff,” he told him even as he and Cross shared a wink.

 

Meanwhile Amanda had buried her face in her hands to hide her red face. She was used to Martin and his teasing but she wasn’t sure she could handle it if Cross started that shit up too.

 

“What I was gettin’ at was that we’re used to you smelling good.” Martin said has he hugged Vogel to his side; the boy nodding energetically in agreement. “Even when you have attacks you smell like food. A buffet of confused pain.” 

 

He breathed deep and the others followed suit, like the four of them were feeding off the phantom memory of her pain. “But you sad,” his face dropped into a grimace, “nothing appetizing ‘bout that Drummer. Just hurts ‘cause you’re one of us.”

 

The other three joined in with chorus of agreements that grew until she somehow ended up on Gripps shoulders as they marched around the little paved area chanting “Drummer!” and “One of Us!” over and over until she nearly fell off from how hard she was laughing. 

Eventually she did tip over but the others were there to catch her and lower her safely down. 

 

Laying on the ground for the second time that day she looked up at her boys as they continued laughing and cheering around her. A howl or two making their way out of charged up throats and most likely freaking out the people that were milling about near by.

 

Things would be okay as long as they could still play like this after a stupid fight.

 

Amanda threw her hands up, waving them in a silent bid for someone to help her up. All four sets of hands gripped her wrists and arms, and the strength of their combined effort nearly threw her up into the air. She let out a loud yell at she started to get airborne but they caught her before she could really leave the ground.

 

“Okay. That might be enough of that for me,” she said once she was steady on her own feet. 

 

Martin looked around for a second, noticing some not so friendly looking faces looking in their direction. Seemed like some of the quiet locals weren’t all that happy to have such noisy visitors. 

 

“Yeah, maybe it's time we headed out,” he said to the group, making a subtle gesture to a woman that was giving them the eye from a bench near the sidewalk.

 

Amanda looked around him to see who he was talking about. When she made eye contact with the woman she sneered at her, which had Amanda’s hackles raising. “Ugh what a bitch,“ she said under her breath.

 

Looking at the the Rowdies she said, “You know what? I don’t think I’m ready to leave.” Her mouth stretched out into a grin that promised fun. “I think I saw some shops on the main street I’d like to visit.”

 

The others caught on to the mischievous glint in her eyes and started to grin back at her. 

 

Martin hugged her to him and said “Well Drummer, I said it before but  where you go, we go. Especially if it means we get to ruffle a few feathers.” Which he accompanied with a quick ruffling of her hair.

 

She pushed him away in mock irritation and straightened out her hair. Putting on an air of dignity she said in her primmest possible voice, “Ok guys, let’s get a little rowdy.”

 

“AW YEAH,” Vogel jumped up in excitement and took off toward the main street before anyone could catch him.

 

Martin called sighed and called out to Cross, who was already starting to follow the youngest Rowdy, “Go catch him? Make sure he don’t start without us.”  

 

Cross nodded his agreement before jogging after Vogel. 

 

Gripps stayed with Amanda and Martin as they moved more sedately after the others. He and Martin coming up to walk on either side of Amanda so that she was bracketed by them both. A not so subtle way to guard her from the hateful gaze of the woman on the bench.

 

But the closer they got to the sidewalk the closer they got to that bitch and the more she glared at them.

 

Amanda had watched as she glared at both Vogel and Cross when they passed by and as they got closer she see her tense up, probably getting ready to say something. It would be so nice to put her in her place.

 

Thinking back to Martin’s little game earlier at the burger joint, a wicked smile grew on her face. 

 

“What you thinking Drummer?” Gripps asked low to her ear but just loud enough for Martin to hear too.

 

When he heard Gripps, Martin looked down at her with a cocked brow. “What’s the plan?”

 

She smiled at them both, drawing their arms over her shoulders, then put her hand in Martin’s back pocket. He gave her a look and the tips of his ears flushed just this side of pink. It was her time to give him a wolfish smile. 

 

Martin looked away, the tips of his ears getting a little more red. 

 

Amanda was proud of herself for getting such a great reaction from him as she turned to look at Gripps to ask if he was okay with the same treatment with a silent look. 

 

He just grinned, “Sure thing.” He was just happy to be in on the fun and when she put her hands in his pocket he just giggled.

 

Once they were settled Amanda noticed that the woman had been watching the whole time. A scandalized look of righteousness on her face at their antics.

 

Perfect.

 

“Ok boys, let's make this good,” Amanda said with manic grin on her face. 

 

The three of them fell into a rhythm of movement that screamed sex as they walked up to where the woman was. They could see her drawing herself up, getting ready to say some scathing remark on their life choices or some shit as they walked by.

 

Amanda made sure to make eye contact with her and held it as they got closer. It seemed to unsettle the woman, and she was sure Gripps and Martin were also staring. She could only imagine the hungry looks they were giving her. If the way her face started to drain of the angry flush it had earlier was anything to go by they were amazing.

 

It was enough to make the woman forget to say something scathing as they passed by, even though she did continue to glare. But just as they made the turn onto the sidewalk, Amanda leaned back, made eye contact again and gave her the once over. Putting as much heat in the look as possible before biting her lip like she liked what she saw. 

 

The scandalized squawk she heard as she turned to look back ahead made a light happy laugh escape from her. No one was gonna make her feel bad about her life, especially some random bitch that couldn’t even escape her shitty little life in a nowhere town. 

 

Gripps and Martin shared in her laugh, both having fed, just a tad, on the woman’s fear and anger. The taste wasn’t the best but the fun of the game made it worth it. As did seeing their Drummer happy again.

 

As they walked down the sidewalk they slowly broke apart but kept close. Not wanting to end the comfortable closeness they had achieved during their teasing.

 

After a few dozen feet they ran into Cross. He was just standing there waiting, with Vogel over his shoulder. But unlike when he had Amanda over his shoulder Vogel was hanging upside down with his head near Cross’s ass. When he caught sight of Amanda and the others he turned, Vogel swinging with the movement. 

 

“Have fun?” 

 

Gripps nodded, “Yup.” He stepped away from Amanda and Martin while gesturing to Vogel. “Where’d you catch him?”

 

Cross looked over his shoulder, replying “Up the street. There’s a store with animals in it and he was just standing there watching them. Easy.”  He motioned with his head, “Wanna see?”

 

Gripps looked very interested. “Yeah.” 

 

So Cross took off down the sidewalk, Gripps following. Vogel didn’t seem to care about being hauled around like a sack of potatoes but when he caught sight of Martin and Amanda he waved happily at them. 

 

Amanda just laughed as she followed after them a few moments later, but Martin sighed tiredly. He had a lifetime of their antics and he was still not always prepared for the ways they could make mischief. He cracked his neck and shook out his arms before jogging to catch up with Amanda.

 

She had looked back at him as he pulled up to her and started walking. “They are something aren’t they?” she asked as she watched Gripps took hold of Vogel’s hands and held him out like a hammock hanging from Cross’s back. The lot of them laughing like fools.

 

Martin just chuckled quietly. “Yeah something alright.”

 

After a moment Martin said quietly, “Hey Drummer. Didn’t mean to make you sad earlier.” His voice was softer than she’d heard it before. 

 

She sighed before saying, “It’s fine, I overreacted.” 

 

A melancholy mood settled over them for a second before Martin bumped her with his hip, “So you know, I still mean it.”

 

She bumped him back, “Mean what?”

 

“ .. Ain’t got no place to be but here for you. ” He said it with a smile, not a grin, but a real smile.

 

Which she returned before linking her arm through his and leaning her head on his arm as they walked. “I know.”

 

She didn’t see it but he just beamed at her, face full of adoration.


	4. Thrift Store Haunting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Rowdy 3 take bets very seriously

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please excuse any typos or glaring errors. I really wanted to post this today and by the time I got it done I was running on fumes.

The thrift store was dim and had that specific smell all second-hand stores seemed to have. But it  did have a surprising selection for such a small town. In fact there was enough to keep The Rowdy 3 mostly distracted while Amanda found some useful stuff.

 

They’d gone through most of the stores on the street causing mild chaos by simply walking in and pretending to window shop. And now that the boys had snacked on all that delicious energy they were being a little more reckless. So when Amanda had seen the sign for the thrift store she herded the lot of them inside. There wouldn’t be too much in the way of collateral damage if they got out of hand. 

 

At least that’s what she told herself. 

 

But it did seem like they were having fun trying on different out of date clothes, in some cases over their regular gear. Like Gripps, he hadn’t taken off his jacket before he pulled on a terrible mustard and maroon sweater and now it was stretched out and misshapen over the bulk. Cross had taken off his jacket but had squeezed himself into a shirt that was several sizes too small and a delicate lilac color. It would have probably looked ok since the color was nice on him, but the shirt he already had on was a lumpy mess and was sticking out in weird ways under the too small shirt. 

 

Vogel had run off somewhere but since there were no sounds of destruction or screaming Amanda figured it was okay. 

 

Martin had too much “dignity” to throw on random pieces but had elected to play “boyfriend” and ended up holding anything the others handed him. Of course just because he wasn’t actively participating didn’t stop his brothers from messing with him as they fooled around.

 

Which is why Amanda lost it when she caught sight of him, draped casually over one of the clothing racks, a rueful smile on his face. And wearing a bright red hat someone put on him. 

 

The thing was massive. And very ornate with feathers and flowers and a whole host of random things. It was like someone had seen one of those elaborate hats rich women wore to horse races and tried to recreate it from memory. And failed horribly.

 

Amanda laughed for probably longer than was polite but it  was too much. His calm acceptance of the monstrosity on his head making it funnier than it had any right to be. Of course there was also the fact that Martin’s face was strangely bare and he was squinting ever so slightly. Making the usually aloof Rowdy even more ridiculous looking with the hat. 

 

When she had gotten her laughter under control enough to not break out in giggles when she looked at him, she walked over to the rack Martin was still leaning on. Wiping away the happy tears that had formed in her eyes as she really took in the hat.

 

“Oh man, that is terrible.” She said as she leaned on the opposite side of the rack. “Where’d you even get it?” She flicked the brim, causing one of the many multicolored feathers to fall off.  

 

In response Martin waggled his eyebrows at her, which nearly sent Amanda into another fit of giggles. When she calmed down again he stated simply,  “Vogel found it.”

 

“Ah.”

 

The two of them shared a moment of unspoken understanding. If anyone was going to locate what was possibly the worst hat in existence it would be Vogel.

 

“And your glasses?” She asked as she tapped him lightly between the eyes. 

 

This time there was no answer. He just tipped his head to the side to see around her before he smiled. A quick flick of his head for her to look behind her followed. Confused Amanda turned to look. 

 

And saw the most amazing thing.

 

Vogel was standing there in an oversized suit jacket that completely dwarfed him, an old beat to shit briefcase in one hand, the most obnoxious tie possible around his neck and Martin’s glasses perched on his nose. 

 

“Look Boss! I’m a Bee’s Knees Man!” Vogel exclaimed happily. 

 

Amanda tried really hard to not think of Vogel as adorable most of the time. He was older than her but sometimes he said or did things that were hard to not think were cute. And this was definitely one of them.  

 

“Oh that’s not fair,” the mumbled to herself. How was she supposed to not think that was cute? He looked exactly like a kid playing dress up in his dad’s clothes. And he was was wearing Martin’s glasses? It was too much.

 

Giving Vogel the widest smile possible she said, “Man that is the best thing I’ve seen all week.” 

 

He gave a little jump of joy, happy he’d been able to make up for a little bit of the sadness he’d cause her earlier. Wanting to show the others he called out to Cross and Gripps, “Hey guys! Look!” 

 

“When did you get glasses?” Cross asked very seriously when saw Vogel.

 

At the same time Gripps yelled, “Man! You look like a tiny man! That’s so awesome.”

 

Vogel did a crazy little happy spin that had them all laughing, Amanda included. But as soon as Martin let loose a howl of excitement she stopped and looked over at the little old woman that was at the register. Afraid that they’d get kicked out for causing a ruckus.

 

But the old woman just smiled at her and waved, apparently undisturbed by the Rowdy 3’s antics. So she let them keep at it until they were done, which was sooner than she expected.

 

While Vogel had been spinning and dancing he somehow shook himself out of his extra clothes like a dog, letting them fall into a pile on the floor. It was slightly mystifying as to how he managed it but somehow was able to keep Martin’s glasses on.

 

Either way it seemed to signal a stop to the trying on of clothes and Gripps began to struggle out of the sweater he’d managed to get on. Cross seemed content to leave on the too small shirt he’d put on as well as a bright yellow hawaiian shirt he’d found at some point. 

 

Amanda helped Vogel put away his pile of clothes and gathered up the few things she’d picked out from where she’d left them by Martin. He had taken off the hat and thrown it frisbee style off to the side and was now walking over to Cross who was still looking through the racks. 

 

“This stuff smells like old,” Amanda heard Gripps say from somewhere behind a large wardrobe that seemed to mark the beginning of the non-clothing stuff. “But there is some neat crap.” 

 

That was enough to get Vogel walking that direction, and Amanda followed suit. Curious to see what interesting stuff he’d found.

 

A few seconds later there was the sound of things being moved around from where Gripps was before he shouted “Look at this!”

 

A large velvet painting of a crying Jesus was held up high enough for everyone to see.  The suddenness of its appearance made both Vogel and Amanda jump. Martin and Cross looked up from where they were discussing some article of clothing they were looking at. 

 

The painting was as terrible as it was big and the damn thing was massive. The eyes seemed to see into Amanda’s soul and let her feeling particularly freaked out. 

 

“Good God Gripps, put that thing away. It’s terrifying.” She begged.

 

Gripps did put the painting down but only to look her in the eye. “I know. It’s great.”

 

“You and me have very different ideas of ‘great’ Gripps.” Amanda said side-eyeing the painting as she tried to get past him. The thing gave her the creeps. 

 

Vogel on the other hand was just as excited about the painting as Gripps and was happily touching the velvet as he ask questions about it. Where did you find it? What’s it made of? Why would anyone want a crying man? And various other things that Amanda just tuned out as she walked into the back area.

 

Only to come face to face with the most haunted thing she could imagine existing. An old life-like baby doll that was missing half its face.

 

It was so terrifying and unexpected that she actually screamed. 

 

The crashes and stomping of feet as The Rowdy 3 rushed to their Drummer’s side was lost to Amanda. The mild heart attack the doll gave her distracting enough to miss the ruckus. It wasn’t until Gripps put his hand on her shoulder that she realized she’d done anything to get their attention. 

 

“Drummer?” Gripps asked cautiously. “What’s up?”

 

Looking over at him she saw the others crowding into the tight aisle, trying to get to her. Amanda suddenly felt stupid for getting so freaked out over nothing. Of course they’d come when she screamed. 

 

Face flushing in embarrassment she pointed in the direction of the doll and argued “You cannot tell me that thing isn’t haunted.” 

 

Amanda could almost hear the four of them blink in confusion before turning to look where she was pointing. There was a satisfying yelp from Vogel as he noticed the doll. Gripps visibly jolted back while Cross went shock still. Martin was the only one to say anything. 

 

“Good Lord.” He looked at the thing over his glasses before cutting his eyes over to Amanda. “You may be right, Drummer. Nothing good in that thing.” He grabbed both Cross and Vogel and ushered everyone past the doll. Watching it wearily he said “Best leave it be.” 

 

Vogel piped up with a “Do you think it was really haunted, Boss?” once they had moved past the doll.

 

“If anything here is haunted, it's gotta be that.” Amanda replied as they moved into a larger space that had rows of junk. And then she said the worst possible thing, “I bet nothing is more haunted than that creepy ass doll.”

 

There was a moment of stillness that had the hair raising on the back of her neck. When she turned to look at the boys she was almost taken aback by the intensity they were watching her with.

 

“Uh…” she started to say something when she was cut off by Cross.

 

“What do we win?” He asked.

 

Confused, she replied with a “What?”

 

It was Martin that answered, “If we find somethin’ more haunted than that thing,” he gestured with his head back toward the creepy doll. “What do we get?” His eyes were eager.

 

But then again all four of them seemed to be chomping at the bit to find out the prize to a bet she hadn’t been serious about. Turns out bets were a bad thing to mention around her boys. “Uh,” Amanda was drawing a blank. 

 

Then from the other side of the wall of furniture that separated the clothes from where they were standing came an unexpected suggestion. “A kiss.”

 

“What?’ Amanda squawked. Surprised by both the voice and the suggestion.

 

The boys had all perked up at the quiet voice, trying to look over the wall to see who was talking. There was a slight scuffle of feet that had them all looking back toward the wardrobe marked the beginning of the junk area. Standing there was the tiny wrinkled old woman from the register.

 

“You should give one of your young men a kiss if they can win your bet.” the old woman said with a smile the scrunched her face up like a shar pei. 

 

Martin and Cross shared one of their looks before grinning like mad at Amanda, Gripps just chuckled and Vogel, well…The second he realized that the prize was not something he was interested in, at all, he slumped like he’d been deflated and grumbled to himself as he Charlie Brown shuffled over to Amanda and propped his chin on her shoulder. 

 

“Boss? Why does everything have to be  _ girlfriend  _ things?” he asked dejectedly as he looked at her like a kicked puppy. “It’s not fair, I wanna find haunted stuff too.” 

 

Amanda couldn’t help but feel a little bad for him. Then again she hadn’t actually agreed that the winner would get a kiss. In fact she hadn’t even meant to start an actual contest. But it seemed like it was out of her hands now. 

 

“It’s okay Vogel,” she said as she patted his head in sympathy, “you can still look for haunted stuff. If you win I promise not to girlfriend kiss you.” 

 

The downtrodden look on his face melted away instantly. “You sure Boss?” 

 

She smiled at him, “Yeah, you win and there will be no girlfriend stuff.”

 

In an instant he was tearing off down the rows of junk, trying to get  head start on his brothers. Soon enough Gripps was brushing past Amanda, giving her a wink as her took off down a different aisle than Vogel.

 

Martin and Cross walked around her at a much more leisurely pace. Cross paused long enough to ask “Do we get girlfriend stuff if we win?” in Amanda’s ear as he passed by. 

 

Martin walked backwards the next few steps to watch her face flush at the implication. When she shoved Cross into him he just laughed before throwing his arm over his brother’s shoulder so the two of them could walk deeper into the store.

 

It was strangely quiet now that the boys had all moved further into the store and Amanda let herself relax for a moment before the chaos that she knew this contest would bring her way started. But it was ruined by a quiet chuckle behind her. 

 

After all the creepy dolls and paintings the simple sound was a little too much for a normal reaction. And to be fair Amanda had completely forgotten about the old woman. So when she turned to face her it was with just a touch of panic, but the second she realized it was just the woman she stomped down that as hard as she could. No need to bring the boys running again. 

 

Wrinkled face still creased in a smile, the old woman walked up to Amanda and took her hand. “I remember the good ol’ days when I was running with my own pack of hooligans. Enjoy it young lady.” She patted her hand before turning back to walk back to the register. “They do make the best lovers,” she said with a wink as she moved out of sight leaving Amanda to sputter in disbelief. 

 

“Oh. My. God.” she said to herself, trying to work what part of the last few minutes was more ridiculous. 

 

Before she could gather her thoughts the boys were coming back with different items they’d found. Apparently the game was on and they were going to go hard. 

 

She quickly dismissed the lot of them, not feeling like any of the things they had brought back to her had as much hauntablity as the doll. Though the weird carving of a Native American woman Cross had found was pretty close. 

 

Alone for the time being, Amanda decided to keep look around for more useful stuff. She had grabbed a few long sleeve shirts that weren’t too terrible and a serviceable pair of jeans that would be good as they started to move into winter from the selection of clothes. She had thought about finding some stuff for the guys but had learned a while ago that they ran a little hot and would be fine once colder weather hit in just their leather jackets. 

 

Though a few blankets would be appreciated if she came across any. They tended to make a nest in the van for her when she got tired, even of they kept going though the night and sometimes they forgot she couldn’t stay as warm as them. And the floor of the van could be pretty uncomfortable at times and the extra padding would be nice.  Even sheets would be nice. So she kept her eyes peeled for linens and he like. 

 

Every once in awhile as she shopped and browsed one of the boys would wander up with some crazy thing they’d found to see if she thought it was more haunted than the doll. There were a few contenders but most of them were sent back to wherever the Rowdy in question had found it. 

 

So far there was a close tie between an old tin picture of what Amanda was certain was a dead body that Gripps had found and a pair of baby shoes that Martin had located in what had to be the dustiest corner of the store. When he’d walked up his clothes were nearly grey with dust. 

 

Amanda had refused to carry the items so the two of them had taken them up to the old woman at the front of the shop. She’d found her sheets and blankets and had them take those up to the front as well along with the few clothes she had picked up earlier.

 

Now hands free she could look a little better at the collection of old books she’d just come across. She might be punk now but tiny Amanda had been a bit of nerd and loved reading. It was also one of the few things she’d felt safe enough to do once she started getting her attacks. She’d left behind quite the collection when she jumped in the van and she missed it just the tiniest bit. 

 

When Vogel came up to her, empty handed and looking a little bored she was skimming the spines that were so cracked they were hard to read. 

 

“What’cha doing?’ he asked watching her carefully as she ran her fingers over the spine of a hardbacked copy of Black Beauty. 

 

“Looking at books.” She looked up at him, “What about you? Aren’ you looking for haunted stuff?”

 

He gave her a look that she couldn’t quite decipher. “Nah, nothing good here. At least not as good as what Gripps and Martin found.” He shrugged. “They’re the best at that.”

 

It was Amanda’s turn to give Vogel a look, “Best at what?’

 

“Picking up old emotions. Off’a old stuff. Stuff that’s haunted.” He sighed and leaned against the makeshift bookshelf a little too hard and a few books fell off. 

 

The both bent down to pick up the books that had fallen. As they did Amanda asked, “I didn’t know that was something you guys could do?”

 

“Yeah. Cross and me ain’t so good at it, but-” He stopped mid sentence, his hand hovering over the last book on the floor. His head tipped to side like a confused dog as he looked at it, fingers just brushing the mostly missing cover. All of sudden he snatched up the book and inhaled. 

 

A smile broke out on his face as he sharply handed the book to her. “For you,” he said. 

 

Putting down the books she’d picked up, Amanda took the offered book from him. Turning it over in her hands to figure out why he thought she would need or want the book.

 

At first she was sure he was just being Vogel. It carried that acidic smell that went with rough yellowed pages. Several parts of the book were water damaged and warped, like the previous owner had read the book in the bath one too many times. What was left of the cover had been worn away by years of handling, the title barely legible. But clear enough for her to recognize it. 

 

Wide eyed she looked up at Vogel. “Oh my god. How the fuck?” she asked in wonder.  

 

Somehow Vogel had managed to find a copy of the very first chapter book Amanda had ever read. 

 

“Dude, I think you just won.”

 

Vogel looked confused. “But-”

 

He was cut off by the soft press of lips to his cheek and the sweet smell of affection flooding his senses. This wasn’t girlfriend stuff, this was family. This was like his brothers felt but softer. This was a sister. 

 

When Amanda pulled back she was slightly afraid that he was going to freak out, but Vogel’s face was soft as he beamed at her before throwing his arms around her in a bear hug. 

**Author's Note:**

> Takada_Saiko wanted some Amanda/Rowdy 3 cuddles so here is the start of three(?) chapters of fluff and cuddles.


End file.
